'New Skin' and the botched quest for beauty

What happens when you can't recognize your mom anymore?For Linli, the protagonist of the book New Skin, this is her reality: her mom Fanny has gone through so many back-alley plastic surgery procedures, Fanny’s face barely looks human anymore. When Fanny gets the opportunity to go on a reality TV show for the chance to fix her botched face, she jumps at it – and Linli tags along. But what happens when you can’t recognize your parent anymore? And what would achieving the perfect face really help?Brittany chats with author Sarah Wang about New Skin, immigration and intergenerational trauma, and our botched quests for beauty.For more episodes about parent relationships or beauty culture, check out:Why some families stop speakingThe morbid lifelessness of modern beautyThe beauty industry has an Epstein problemSupport Public Media. Join NPR Plus.Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluseFor handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy